Dawn French has revealed she has written and filmed a moving tribute to the late Emma Chambers.
This will be aired with the hotly awaited Vicar of Dibley Christmas specials.
Emma played Alice Tinker in the hit series, and she sadly passed away aged just 53 in 2018.
Speaking on Lorraine, Dawn, 63, said it was incredibly painful but important to write her eulogy into the script.
She told Lorraine Kelly: “There is a eulogy to Alice there which wasn’t very easy for me to film, but which was important for me to do.”
What has Dawn French said about the Vicar of Dibley in Lockdown specials?
Dawn also confirmed that the famous post-credits, in which her character Geraldine Granger tells Alice Tinker a joke, won’t be included.
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However, there will be a nod to the classic scenes.
She explained: “We do have Hugo Horton, Alice’s husband, he is there with me, James Fleet plays him, and there is a lovely moment when I tell a joke to him, and fingers crossed, he might get it at last.”
Meanwhile, the central plot will revolve around the Vicar spending Christmas during lockdown.
Dawn said: “We asked ourselves, and by we I mean [writers] Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer and I asked ourselves, ‘What would Geraldine be doing in the lockdown?’
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“And of course she would be on the webcam talking to her parishioners so that’s what we have done.
“We have made nine little tiny films where she, through the power of Zoom, is connecting with everybody and it’s funny and silly as she is talking to folk.
When are the specials airing?
“She is doing a sort of newsletter and a sermon. We have tried to be light and funny but we also try to remember those who aren’t with us anymore.”
Emma died of a heart attack on 21 February 2018.
In addition to her beloved comedy work on The Vicar of Dibley, she also famously appeared in the movie Notting Hill as Honey Thacker.
Days after her passing, the BBC aired The Vicar of Dibley episode ‘Love and Marriage’ in her memory.
The Vicar of Dibley in Lockdown specials start on BBC1 from the 7th December at 8.50pm. Each episode will be just ten minutes long.
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